Winterkill

In the seven years since police inspector Ari Thór Arason moved to Siglufjörder, a new tunnel has transformed the town from isolated Icelandic backwater to bustling tourist destination. As tourists begin to arrive for the Easter holiday, a shy local girl named Unnar plunges to her death from the attic balcony of an imposing home on Siglufjörder's main street. The couple, who admit to buzzing Unnar into the building, claim not to know her, and the building's other occupant is away. Despite finding no evidence of a scuffle on the balcony, Ari Thór has lingering questions about why Unnar chose that particular house to make her final statement. When a bedridden resident at a local eldercare home claims to know that the girl was murdered, the investigation becomes a true mystery. Jónasson offers a matured, thoughtful Ari Thór in this sixth episode in his Dark Iceland series, as the inspector ultimately unravels two of Siglufjörder's darkest secrets and makes strides toward finding a new personal path for himself. A must-read series for fans of international crime fiction.

The discovery of a young woman's body on the main street of the remote town of Siglufjörður propels Jónasson's outstanding final Dark Iceland mystery featuring police inspector Ari Thór Arason (after 2019's Rupture). The victim, later identified as 19-year-old Unnur, fell from a balcony overlooking the street, but was it an accident? Or did Unnur jump--or, worse, was she pushed? In classic procedural style, Ari Thór tries to piece together what happened to this "quiet, studious" girl who was still living at home with her mother, but he makes little progress, with no witnesses and no obvious suspects. The stakes rise when Ari Thór learns that a patient in a local nursing home scrawled "She was murdered" on the wall of his room after hearing about the death. How this distinctive lead relates to the people of Siglufjörður is as intriguing as the crime solving. That this is a translation of the French translation of the original Icelandic edition is no impediment to enjoyment. Series fans will be sorry to see the last of Ari Thór. Agent: David Headley, DHH Literary (U.K.). (Mar.)